Machine for depositing articles or viscous liquids and the like upon trays or in molds carried by a continuously traveling conveyer



Sept. 11, 1934.

G. R. BAKER MACHINE FOR DEPOSITING ARTICLES OR VISCOUS LIQUIDS AND THE LIKE UPON TRAYS OR IN MOLDS CARRIED BY A CONTINUOUSLY TRAVELING CONVEYER Filed April 25, 1953 ker" Patented Sept. 11, 1934 UNITED STATES MACHINE FOR DEPOSITING ARTICLES OR VISCOUS LIQUIDS AND THE LIKE UPON TRAYS OR IN MOLDS CARRIED BYA CON- TINUOUSLY TRAVELING CONVEYER George Ralph Baker, London, England,assignor to Baker Perkins Company, Incorporated, Saginaw, Mich.

Application April 25, 1933, Serial No. 667,924

In Great Britain May 3, 1932 9 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for depositing articles in rows upon trays carried by a continuously traveling conveyer or depositing viscous liquids or semi-liquicls from a machine adapted to deposit measured quantities of such liquids, upon pans or, into molds carried by a continuously traveling conveyer. For convenience hereinafter the invention will be mainly described with reference to the depositing or placing of shaped articles upon trays.

The object of the present invention is to provide improved means for making deposits in a series or group of consecutive rows, from a fixed point or transverse line, in turn upon a series of spaced trays, whilst the main body of the tray conveyer is continuously traveling.

The invention consists in imparting to a portion of the conveyer differential movements for the reception of a series of deposits in one tray and to cause the intervening space between one tray and the next to be skipped.

According to the invention a carriage carrying a plurality of chain wheels around which the conveyer passes is reciprocated by cam 01" other means to bring a portion of the conveyer relatively to rest for each deposit, and after a group of deposits has been made to fill the tray to allow the conveyor to assume its normal rate of travel or cause it to acquire an accelerated rate of travel in order to skip the space between trays with respect to the interval between one depositing operation and the next.

For convenience the invention will be described with reference to a tray conveyer guided in a path as described in British Specification No. 275,410. According to this specification the conveyer passes in a pair of oppositely disposed bights over chain wheels mounted upon aslidable carriage and passes around fixed chain wheels which provide an unobstructed upper horizontal lap. y

The accompanying drawing is a fragmentary side elevation of a tray conveyer illustrating an application of the invention thereto.

In carrying the invention into effect according to one convenient mode, a chain conveyer indicated in the drawing by the dot and dash line 1 andprovided with a series of trays, examples of which are seen at 2, passes around guide wheels 3, 4 and 5, and the wheels 6 and 7 of a reciprocable carriage 8. The guide wheels are suitably supported in the side frames 9 of the machinewhich also support a slideway or roller bearing bed 10 for the carriage 8. This arrangement affords an upper lap lit for the tray conveyer the travel of which is controlled and affords an appropriate area for depositing the goods in a succession of rows upon the trays. For-convenience the following description will be confined to one side only. of the machine.

The carriage 8 which is freely reciprocable on its bed is connected by a linkage 11 to a lever 12 which in turn is fulcrumed at 120. upon a slider 13 which may comprise a crosshead and slideway of known form. Between the fulcrum of the lever and its end connected to the linkage, a connected rod'14 is provided which terminates in an eccentric strap enclosing an eccentric 15. The eccentric is adjustably fixed upon a shaft 15a driven by suitable gearing 16 so that it makes, say, six revolutions to one of the driving shaft. 17 of the machine. The driving shaft 17 carries a cam grooved disc 18 in the groove of which a roller 19 upon a pivoted lever 20 engages. The cam is coupled to the carriageactuating device as follows: The lever 20 is connected at one end to the slider 13 and at the other end is fulcrumed at 21 in the side frames of the machine so that the fulcrum 12a is periodically displaced and the oscillations or action of the lever 12 are modified after it has imparted six reciprocations to the carriage. The reciprocations of the carriage 3 bring the upper lap 1a of the conveyor and, hence, the trays 2, to rest or substantial rest whilst the tray is receiving each of its six rows of deposits. After the sixth row has beendeposited the speed of the conveyer is accelerated to skip the space between one tray and the next at the depositing station which may be located at any convenient position over the upper lap 1a. Each new tray as it is brought to the depositing station receives a further series of deposits positioned in rows. The carriage is reciprocated by the eccentric 15.

It will be. appreciated that the ratio of 6:1 is given by way of example with reference to the making of six deposits per tray and the ratio may be adjusted to suit the particular number of deposits per tray that is desired. a

The articles are deposited by any known fixed depositing devices indicated diagrammatically at 25 synchronized with the conveyer driving means and adapted to discharge rows of articles in succession, for example, the depositing devices may be of the vacuum box type adapted to pick up a row of articles by suction and deposit the same upon breakage of the vacuum. The pdepositing device formsno part of the present invention.

It will be appreciated that where viscous liquids are deposited and it is desired to spread the deposits in the molds, instead of bringing the molds substantially to rest whilst receiving the deposit, relative movement may take place by providing mechanism such, for example, as a suitably shaped cam, adapted to reciprocate the carriage to give a degree of retardation or, on the other hand, of acceleration, whilst the skipping mechanism superimposes or supplements the carriage movement to acceleratethe passage of the gap between mold plates, during the nondepositing periods or during suction strokes of the plungers of a synchronized depositing machine of the plunger type which may be of any known fixed type adapted to deliver fixed or variable measured quantities.

The cam or eccentric control means and also the gear ratios may be made interchangeable with other cams or eccentric forms or gears in order that the machine may be readily adapted for changing from one set of conditions to another as'may be required. Alternatively, a set of cams may be provided and selective means installed to determine the appropriate cam for use according to the desired cycle.

In order to vary the stroke of the carriage with respect to the throw of any particular cam or eccentric, the cam may be made to operate upon the carriage through an adjustable link connection such as by the provision of a bellcrank lever, one end of which is operated upon by the cam while theother end operates upon the carriage displacing lever through a slotted link connection.

Instead of applying the invention to a con veyer by aid of an intermediate carriage such as 8 operative on a pair of bightsof the chain conveyer, the invention may be applied to a conveyer of the type having terminal displaceable chain wheels co-operating in unison with a further pair of chain wheels to cause an upper or lower lap of the conveyer to receive diiferential movement when the chain wheels are reciprocated. V r i r The invention may be usefully employed for depositing upon trays shaped or molded biscuits or cakes, such as wire cut biscuits, or shredded wheat biscuits or cakesgor for depositing liquid or semi-liquid chocolate or cream or batters in molds or upon trays.

Having now described my inventionwhat I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:-

i. In a tray or like continuously traveling conveyer for receiving deposits of the character indicated, means for reciprocating a portion of the conveyer to vary the continuous 'movement of the portion concerned in a regular series of steps or stages, and a power-actuated means adapted to periodically and at predetermined intervals modify said reciprocation in a manner to make regular deposits upon the trays and skip the spaces between trays.

2. In a tray or like continuously traveling conveyer having the features of claim 1, eccentric means for reciprocating said portion of the conveyer, and cam means for modifying said reciprocations. I

3. In a tray or like continuously traveling conveyer plant for receiving deposits of the character indicated, a carriage carrying a plurality of chain wheels around which the conveyer passes, means for reciprocating the carriage regularly for giving a portion of the conveyer a series of rest periods for receiving a group of deposits and means for modifying the reciprocations periodically to vary the rate of travel between one depositing period and the next.

4. In a tray or like continuously traveling conveyer plant for receiving deposits of the character indicated, a carriage carrying a plurality of chain wheels around which the conveyer passes, eccentric means for reciprocating the carriage regularly for giving a portion of the conveyer a series of rest periods for receiving a group of deposits and means for mod-- ifying said reciprocations periodically to vary the rate of travel between one depositing period and the next.

5. In a tray or like continuously traveling conveyer or plant for receiving deposits of the characted indicated, a carriage carrying a plurality of chain wheels around which the conveyer passes, means for reciprocating the carriage to bring a portion of the conveyer sub stantially to rest for each deposit and means adapted after a group of deposits has been made in a tray to cause the portion of the conveyer to travel at a rate adapted to skip the space be tween one tray and the next during an interval between depositing periods.

6. In a tray or like continuously traveling conveyer or plant for receiving deposits of the character indicated, a carriage carrying a plurality of chain wheels around which the conveyer passes, eccentric means adapted to bring a portion of the conveyer substantially to rest for each deposit and cam means adapted after a group of deposits has been made in a tray to allow the conveyer to travel at a rate adapted to skip the space between one tray and the next during an interval between depositing periods.

7. A plant as claimed in claim 3, wherein the means for modifying the reciprocations of the carriage comprises a regularly oscillatable lever having a displaceable fulcrum and means for periodically displacing the fulcrum for the purposes described.

8. In a tray or like continuously traveling conveyer plant for receiving deposits of the character indicated a carriage'carrying a plurality of chain wheels around which the conveyer passes, a lever having a displaceable fulcrum, an eccentric for regularly oscillating said lever to reciprocate said carriage, links coupling the carriage and eccentric with said lever, a rotarycam and means coupling said cam to the fulcrum of said lever to shift the same and thereby modify reciprocations of the carriage.

9. In a depositing machine having a continuously driven tray conveyer presenting a receiving lap and including oppositely disposed bights mounted on a movable carriage, in combination, a driven eccentric, means operatively connecting the eccentric with the carriage to actuate the carriage back and forth continuously, a driven cam, coupling means operatively connecting the cam with the said carriage-actuating means, gearing coordinating the rotations of the eccentric and of the cam in predetermined ratio, the shape of said cam being appropriate to actuate the said coupling means periodically and to thereby modify certain of the back and forth movements of the carriage.

GEORGE RALPH BAKER. 

